There's no better way to fight urban sprawl, it seems, than to build up. Indeed, modern super-towers have the opportunity to become entire communities with space to live, work, shop, and relax. These towering titans, however, do not come without a cost.

To help minimize these impacts, innovative architects have found ways to utilize recycled materials, implement passive heating and cooling and alternative energy generation, and even offset emissions with gardens, all hundreds of feet above the ground.

Planet 100 rounds up the top five skyscrapers pushing green to towering new heights:

5. Ohkta Tower

The Mayor of St. Petersburg announced this month that the site for a controversial 400-meter green skyscraper in the city will be moved.

Okhta Tower is the proposed new headquarters of Russian gas giant Gazprom. Designed by RMJM Architects, the building will be super-insulated thanks to two glass 'skins' that create an atrium around the main body of the tower. Opponents worry the tower with ruin the city's unique low-rise skyline.

4. Hearst Tower

Photo credit: Tim Klein/Getty Images

Architect Norman Foster was the brains behind the Hearst Tower, New York City's first LEED gold skyscraper.

The triangular framing pattern known as a diagrid is made from 85% recycled steel and uses about 20% less steel than a conventional frame. From heat conducive limestone paved atriums to a rain water powered water sculpture, the building is tricked out with green features.

3. Bahrain World Trade Center

Built in 2008, it's first skyscraper in the world to integrate wind turbines into its design. The Bahrain World Trade Center is at number three in our Top 5 Eco Skyscrapers.

The Bahrain WTC consists of two sail shaped towers designed to funnel wind to three skybridges each holding a 225KW wind turbine, capable of generating 11% to 15% of the towers' total power consumption. The turbines operate approximately 50% of the time on an average day.

2. Shanghai Tower

Photo credit: AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

Designed by architecture firm Gensler, the Shangahi Tower will be tallest, most eco-friendly skyscraper in China.

Made from nine cylindrical buildings stacked atop each other, the twisting design is perfect for capturing rainwater to be used for heating and cooling. The building will have a double-skin layer to accommodate nine sky gardens, while the glass façade is described to be able to reduce wind loads by 24%.

1. Dynamic Tower

In at number one, a rotating skyscraper to be built in Dubai will be entirely powered by a series of 79 horizontal wind turbines.

In wha's being described as "the world's first building in motion," the revolving 80-story tower will also have solar photovoltaic ink on the roof of each floor to supply further renewable energy to this building. The skyscraper will cost an estimated $700m to build.